Perception
by honeycloud
Summary: Spencer gets a unexpected call about his mother and the Team begins to worry when Reid begins to drift.
1. Intro

_"It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone,"- John Steinbeck_

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Today was just like any other day for Spencer Reid. Wake up, get dressed, go to work. Nothing was off as he walked toward the train on his way to the BAU. Everything about today seemed to be going the way it had had since Monday, it being Friday, Reid was glad the week was almost over and couldn't wait to relax at home for the weekend.

Reid Stood on the train platform looking down trying not to create awkward eye contact with strangers waiting for their train as well, it hadn't been busy due to the chilling winds, even he regretted not taking his car today.

Pulling the scarf closer his face Reid soon felt the buzz from his phone in his coat pocket. Reid quickly pulled the phone out assuming it was Hotch on the other end; they've been on paper duty this whole week so the possibility of the call being a case was higher.

"Reid here" Trying replying in a calm manner but didn't work as well because of the sudden gust of wind making his teeth chatter a bit, he hoped the case was somewhere warmer than where he was now.

"Dr. Reid?" The voice was unfamiliar. Reid suddenly made confused look as he pulled the phone away from his face to look at caller ID, he didn't recognize the voice or the number, it was a male, young, maybe mid to late 30's.

"Umm…yes this is Dr. Reid, and who is this?" Reid asked he could feel the anxiety building in his chest.

"This is Dr. Wilson from the Bennington Sanitarium…"

Reid could feel his heart sink. Something must have gone wrong, Something could have happened to his mother, who was calling him, why couldn't he regains the number. So many Reasons were racing around in Reid's head he almost didn't hear Dr. Wilson on the phone.

"Hello? Sir?"

"u-um yes? sorry, is something wrong with my mother? is she alright?" Reid stuttered a bit. Reid began to walk away from the tracks to a more enclosed location to hear the other person on the phone.

"Well you see that's why I'm calling" Dr. Wilson toke a pause "You mother was transferred to the hospital late last night due to an incident that accursed. we can talk more thoroughly in details once you get here. She's there now and expecting you."

Reid's eyes darted all over and began to feel it was harder to breathe. "umm..a..-of course, I'll be right there thank you." Hanging up the phone and shockingly putting it pack in his pocket. With his free hand, Reid brushed though his hair. He was stressed. He needed to see his mother immediately. He would have to explain to Hotch that he Couldn't come to work today later. His mother needed him more then he's boss and Reid too much of a train wreck to call him now.

Taking a deep breath, Reid quickly ran out of the train station and flagged down the nearest taxi. Why hadn't the doctor explained why he's mother was in the hospital? he prayed that she was ok and that it wasn't something serious.

_CM_CM_CM_CM_CM_CM__

Morgan walked through the doors of the office sipping on a fresh cup of coffee well holding another in his another hand. He smiled as he walked toward the bullpen. Reid had bought him a coffee a couple days ago and thought he'd repay the favor. Morgan stopped when he reached his desk surprised to see Reid hadn't shown up for work yet, Reid was always one of the first one here unless he was getting here with on of us it was a rare sight to see he's desk empty.

Morgan looked around to see if he had just wondered off somewhere else. Just then, Garcia came around the corner with a bright welcoming smile.

"why hello, does my eyes deceive me or is my knight in shining armor here to save me from the wretched pile of papers on my desk or do you plan on drinking two cups of coffee this morning." She said with a smirk as she walked toward Morgan.

"Hey there sweetness" Morgan replayed as he handed Garcia the other cup of coffee. Hey, first come first serve. He'll repay Reid another time. Garcia gave a joyful giggle as she toke the cup from Morgan.

"Hey you haven't had happened to see Reid around here have you?" Morgan asked as he looked again around the room with a bit of concern.

"Sorry sugar, I haven't seen him since yesterday," Garcia said still smiling as she toke another sip of coffee morgen had brought in.

Morgan watched as Garcia walked back to her office and looked back to Reid's desk. Well maybe he's just late. Morgan shrugged it off and began to work on the pile of papers waiting for him. Morgan decided he would call him in a couple of hours if he still hadn't shown up. Hopefully the kid's train was late or his alarm didn't go off, but that still didn't stop him from texting the kid.

_-Hey Reid, running late?- 8:06am_

Morgan put his phone back in his pocket as he began his work for the day he just hoped Reid could get here before hotch could gather them for the new case.

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**_A/N thank you so much for reading! this is my first fic so I would love the reviews, don't worry next chapter will be longer this was more of a test run! if you have any questions or requests just ask! :)_**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/U Thanks To all you lovely people reading my story and giving me some advice! I've edited the first chapter to a tipper topper shape and I Hope you Enjoy this next chapter! I'll try to keep writing chapters as soon as possible I have some other great stories planned for you all so hopefully I can write this one pretty quick this Story won't be terribly long but be prepared for 6 or so upcoming chapters! Love you all! :)**

**-CM doesn't belong to me a well as any of the characters, I know so sad :"O-**

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Morgan looked down at his phone for what seemed like the hundredth time. It had been almost 3 hours and Reid hadn't replied to his text or shown up for work yet. Something wasn't right. Morgan looked over at JJ who was leaning on the side of Emily's desk.

JJ looked up from Prentiss and saw Morgan staring at her. They both gave a concerned face as Morgan glanced at Reid's desk.

JJ walked over to Morgan and folded her arms "No word on Reid?"

"Nothing." Morgan's voice became annoyed as he looked toward Reid's empty desk. "You think Hotch knows what's up? " Morgan looked up at JJ. She sighed and turned around to look at Hotch's office.

She could see him gathering up some files about to head to the door but not before looking back to Reid's desk. " I don't know, But better if Hotch knew then to have him just disappear on us" She looked back to Morgan and frowned before walking back to prentiss. Morgan then got up and started walking to Hotch who had just then opened the door.

Hotch gathered up the files sitting on his desk He'd just got the word from Saint George's police department in Utah that there had been a series of murders in their town and believed to be done by the same Unsub and based on the report he could see why. Hotch got up from his desk and headed for the door when he noticed the empty desk across from Morgan. Hotch walked out of the room and slowly made his way to the conferencing room Stopping when he met eye contact with Morgan who had been walking toward him.

"Hotch did Reid say anything about not coming into work today?" Morgan's voice as serious and sounded worried. Hotch looked over again to Reids desk then back to Morgan.

"No, I never got a call from him." Hotch sounded a little mad but Reid not calling and not showing up to work was not the best idea. Letting go of the small grudge Hotch looked up at JJ and prentiss who started to walk to the conference room followed by Rossie and Garcia. "No one's heard from him?" he said softly with more concern

"No." Morgan looked back at the team " You don't think something happened did you?"

"I'll find out." Hotch then handed Morgan the files, "Start the meeting I'm going to see what I can find out." Hotch then walked back into his office reaching for the phone. Morgan turned around and started walking to the conference room everyone looked from inside with worried looks.

Sitting down Morgan opened the case files and gestured to Garcia "Go ahead baby girl."

"alright, well In the town of Saint Georgia Utah its not the Beautiful landscapes catching people's attention today but the horrifying number of bodies" Garcia turned to the screen to reveal a set of 6 different bodies, 4 female 2 Male , all the bodies were placed face down with nothing but their undergarments on laying in alleys ways and a couple under of bridges. " Our first 3 ladies Sherri Hoffman, Elizabeth Angelo and Jenny Burke where prostitutes and their ID's were found nearby as well as the others. Sarah Mullins is a local college student and the two men where Local contraction workers by the names of William Settles and Henry Benitez."

JJ looked to Morgan and pointed to on of the photos in the file " all the bodies are faced down so that could be a sign of remorse."

Morgan nodded as he looked into the files writing "Says here that the Victim's were not violated in any way and showed no signs of struggle and that they died because from overdose of benzodiazepines, So it wasn't the torture Our unsub was looking for, and he's showing remorse to the victim's."

Rossi then spoke up looking to the board filled with images "So what was the Unsub trying to show us..." everyone looked around expecting Reid to give statistic's but was left without an answer.

Prentiss sighedand looked down at the photos trying to find something to break the tension of the room and squinted her eyes to the victim's backs. "Whats that on the back?" Looking up at her teammates. On the body a series of lines were placed on the backs of each victim the lines were about 2 inches long and were spaced in rows filling the whole back. Everyone looked down and gave a confused look as spoke up to respond to Emily "I'm so glad you asked," The images then changed to a close-up of the victim's back. " all Victims how these little lines on their back, now the strange thing is the lines are never in the same pattern its almost like some kind of -.."

"Morse code." Garcia turned around to face Rossie who cut her off.

"how do you know?" she asked

Rossie pointed to the lines of the back " Each line represent a beep and the spaces between the lines define the letter before it. "

"Can you figure it out?" Morgen asked. This whole code seemed like something Reid could figure out in a matter of seconds and him not being here made the problem a lot harder than it would have been.

"I can try but my morse is a little rusty and it'll take me some time to translate for each victim...This is more of Reid's house, not mine." Rossi looked to the empty seat across from him taking a pause before looking back to Morgan. " Do we know where he is yet?"

Morgan shook his head as he looked over to hotch who was still on the phone. "Hotch is figuring that out as we speak.

Prentiss gave a sympathetic look " I would not want to be Reid right about now if were him." She looked over to Hotch on the phone and hoped he wasn't too mad at him, this was a pretty reckless move and could cause a lot of lecturing with Hotch which she presumed was hopping on the phone.

Soon everyone got up and agreed to finish reviewing the case on the plane so that hotch and hopefully Reid could get caught up in the case before they land.

As the team got there to-go bags and headed to the door Rossi walked up the steps to hotch office and knocked lightly on the door before opening it. " we all decide to finish reviewing on the plane...Any news?" Rossi stared at Hotch as he set the phone down and shook his head.

"I called him but know one picked up. I left a message about the case and where we'll be, but I'm worried something happened." Hotch slowly picked up his to go bag and set it on the table. Reid was the youngest of the team at the age of 28, he's always been on time and even called him when he his train was delayed and that he was going to be 10min late. This was not like Reid and he wasn't sure rather be mad for Reid acting carelessly for not calling or worried that something else could have happened.

Rossi walked over to hotch " Lets give it some time and if he doesn't call back in the hour we'll have Garcia track him down for us." he said with a smile and a jokingly manner but in reality if Reid did not reply to Hotch's voice mail they would have to find the answer whether heading to his house or calling in Garcia's expertise.

They both walked out of the office and headed to the elevators like the rest of the team had when Hotch's phone suddenly went off. Both stopped and Rossi looked down as hotch pulled the phone from his pocket. It was a text.

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**Thanks for reading! reviews are always helpful again I'll try making longer chapters but for now enjoy! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Sorry for the wait guys! I've been writing another fic and I'm very proud of it I hope you guys will like it I'm just making a few chapters so that you all have more to Reid (it's a good one) anywho, here's chapter 3 again sorry if this chapters a bit short, but I'm trying to end this so that I can focus more on the other fic. I want to thank all the people who have given me advice and helped me throughout my writing! Love you guys! :)**

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Reid could feel his eyes water as he sat beside the hospital bed his mother was in. holding his mother's soft warm hands offered some comfort but seeing her attached to the machines and laying in the bed was something he never wanted to experience.

The morning all went by so fast from getting in the cab, taking the plane, following Dr. Wilson to room his mother was in. It all seemed like a blur.

Reid closed his eyes and rested his forehead on his and his mother's hand. Taking a deep breath, Spencer reflected on what the doctor had told him about he's mother.

"_We found out early yesterday morning that she hadn't been taking for medication after a series of violent outbursts. Turns out your mother had been hiding the medication in her room, She was committed because of an overdose _of_ her medication he had been hoarding. _We're_ still not sure how she managed to do this _without_ are personal finding out, but it had been very _severe_."_

Reid looked at his mother as she slept and felt a burgee of anger. How could they not know she hadn't been taking her medication? It's their job to help his mother not leave her to fend for herself! Reid leaned back on the chair he was sitting on and brought his hands to his face to calm down a bit. They said she would be able to leave in a few days maybe sooner if she agreed to…but would she be ok? What if he left and she'd end up doing this again? He may not be so lucky this time. Looking back at his mother Reid sighed in relief just glad nothing had horrendous happened to his mother the last thing he needed was to have more people leave him.

A couple tears ran down Reid's face but was quickly whipped away when his phone bussed. The sudden realization washed over Reid's face. He hadn't called Hotch. In fact No one knew where he went, he hadn't even turned his phone back on till he got to the hospital.

Reid quickly looked down at his phone there were a couple texts from Morgan and a voicemail from Hotch. Reid gulped and slowly brought the phone to his face, he to listen to the voicemail first, Reid's eyes wandered toward his mother as he listened to the voicemail.

-"Reid? It's Already 11:10 and you haven't showed up for work or notified any of your teammates and I guessing there's a reason for that but right know we have a case of Saint George and were heading there know I sent you the case files digitally so you could review them…. Contact me as soon as you can."-

Reid pulled the phone away and looked down at it with a concentrated look. Hotch didn't sound so happy and he seemed a little rushed to the phone. He felt bad for not contacting him early but with his mother and the sudden change of plans, he just couldn't find the time.

Looking back at his mother Reid knew he couldn't leave but he didn't know what he would say to Hotch. Grasping the phone with both of his hands Reid began to think about what he might do. He didn't want his team to worry; this wasn't there problem to deal with. But he couldn't leave his mother just like that she nearly killed herself.

Reid quickly sent a text to Hotch but without having to explain to deeply in the situation. Closing his eyes once more and resting his head on his arms on the side of the bed Reid slowly began to drift off as he waited for his mother to wake up. He only hoped Hotch would understand.

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Hotch looked down at the text Reid sent and furred his brow as he read the strange text and bent the phone so that Rossi could look over to the take a look as well.

-I'm Sorry. Emergency. Please don't call. – S. Reid 11:16 am

Rossi was the fist to speak up "Well, He answered right? That's a start." With a sad sigh Rossi began to walk to the elevator, Hotch followed behind him.

"But why wouldn't he want us to call him?" Hotch questioned, his heart started to pound as the worry filled his chest. "It's not like him."

Rossi looked to Hotch as the stepped into he elevator. "Maybe He just needs some time, he did say it was an emergency." Hotch gave him an unsure look "Look I'm worried for the kid too he's part of our family…he knows where were going to be. All we can do is hope he shows up."

Hotch gave a short nod but wasn't convinced that that was the only thing they could do. Rossi and Hotch got on the plane and sat down with the rest of their teammates as they set sail for the case awaiting them. Pulling his phone aside Hotch sent a text to Garcia. As much as he hated using his team against each other knowing where Reid was might give some clues about what was going on.

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**I'll write some more don't worry thanks again to all you readers! my fist fic and not my last you guys inspire me to do more! if you have any questions please ask! don't forget to read and review. ;)**


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